How does a virgin maid get a child, how did Jachino get a horse?

I was more than 50 years old, when the dream of my childhood fulfilled: when I was 15 years old, I had seen a falling star. I wished an own white horse. That happened in 1943.

In those times, my Grandfather had a double pony for us children, but it was not mine. In those war times we didn’t even have a saddle. A double pony is known for its unquiet character. It liked to put its head between the legs, so you soon landed in the grass, but when it was galloping, you could sit safely on horseback, which is called the paradise on earth. At that time I drew only little horses and the porcelain old dolls of my mother’s childhood.

1981 the dream of my childhood was reality. Even as a present. Like the fairy in my dream. For me and my god-daughter Julchen, who was living together with me and her mother in an old farm house at Täferrot. Nobody wanted this horse and I didn’t know anything about horses. So we took it to Mr. Zenz, a horse expert. He had some horses himself in an old wooden stable on a meadow far away from the village. He was wearing the golden rider’s star, always showing the decoration, full of proud. During the war he was a riding teacher for young officers to pain them.

But with our horse he got problems, when he tried to ride it, he was thrown to the ground. When he was alone, he mistreated our horse with painful lashes of his whip so, that we could see the prints. He was a man with a big mouth. He cried: "That is no horse, that is a devil, it needs a knife to kill it." My father said to me:" Look at the eyes, there is too much white in the eyes, you will never be able to control."

But when there was Julchen, the horse was calm and obedient. Me too it let hire in saddle. When Mr. Zenz saw this, he grew angry and became a danger for our horse, when we were not present. So we took our horse to Täferrot, where I had got a box in the stable of a hobby-rider. That man gave our horse sugared power-food. Now the horse became wild and crazy, destroying wooden things in its box. Impossible to touch it, go near it - and Julchen was sick, she was in hospital because of a tumor. So I had a lot of troubles with the horse and I could not sleep. It was a hard winter with much snow. It happened, that I was going through the deep snow, with the right hand holding the horse with Julchen on its back, with a "Gipsbein" ( a plaster around the leg), with the left hand holding our little dog. It was picture to stamp in news paper.

The vet said: the horse is sick, the circus friend said: it is sick because of being alone. A horse needs the nearness of other horses. So we bought the little Leila.

 Leila

I bought the small 8 months old female welsh pony which I had seen when it had been born in September 1982 at Riegel and then saw growing up every day. I paid 700.-DM.. The little horse was so beautiful that the vet was enthusiastic about it. An Arab horse in miniature. Gegix gave me the advice to move her, as often as possible, so I could give her more oats to grow faster. We went to Gomaringen in a VW van to bring her home to us. 5 km before arriving the van had abreak-down, and so we had to continue on foot. There was snow, and we used our clothes to protect her. But arriving at Täferrot, the sun was shining and the two horses whinnied and soon they got friends. Now both wanted to stay together everywhere, also when I went riding to the forest. Here I could let the little horse free, she was running her free ways, but came soon, when I shouted, because in my pocked was always something to eat - oats or carrots.

For moving the horse I followed the advice of the great master of horses, Fredy Knie sen., improvising an arena behind the stable. There, I pushed her for running round the arena. First at the leash, then free. I was surprised how quickly she learned, she seemed to be born already educated. Soon she learned to follow the order slow, trot, gallop. With pleasure she jumped over some hurdles as I had seen at the Circus Knie. Then: stop! I took her head in my hands, gave he some goody, I made her turn herself, and I said: Laila, Pirouette. 3 times. Then run slow, then trot, than suddenly „Leila, pirouette!" What a surprise: she did it really and perfectly Without any of these stupid tricks, which circus people use. The next day I put also the other horse into the arena, and now I could teach them together. I was full of fantasy for creating new tricks.

So I could move my horses every day, going outside in the forest or working in the arena.

In 1985 I could present my horses in the arena of the Circus Bonanza, in 1986 I presented them in perfection at the inauguration of my exhibition of paintings at Dewangen in the open air. I was choosen for a show of the school of Lorch

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